Life After Indentureship

When Indentureship ended in 1917 not every Indian immigrant returned to India as the immigrants received land after their contract ended. These individuals settled in mostly areas in the South of Trinidad known today as Fyzabad, Barrackpore, Chandernagore, Penal, Siparia and Princess Town. Popular Hindu surnames also stayed prevalent after the plantations such as Maharaj, Maraj, Persad, Singh, Teelucksingh and Ganesh to name a few. Most of the immigrants became businessmen in the trade industry and continued to work on the Caroni Sugar Estate which allowed them to provide income for their family and education for the sons of the family. Festivals were now celebrated as they were no longer bond to their contracts as well as they practiced Hinduism by constructing their sacred temples and most famous the Siewdass Mandir which was constructed in the sea as authorities forbid him to build it on his land. All in all, the immigrants who stayed and made Trinidad their home, brought a new race and culture to not only this land but to the Caribbean as well. Many religious and cultural practices are still present today and live on in the Indian Hindu Society in Trinidad!